Let the Next Journey Begin!
It is 4 am and I am not asleep.
I began a quest yesterday, wait- I started another search yesterday. I embarked on a mission, really. The purpose has been self-discovery and incremental enlightenment for years now, but yesterday I took a real leap on the path. I started Kundalini Yoga teacher training yesterday.
If you are unfamiliar with Kundalini, you might be wondering how this is such a big deal and why one would be awake at 4 am just because they had begun a new yoga venture. I suppose for many yoga is still a weird Indian derived exercise program that twists you into a pretzel and has you saying kooky things like Nameste which here is America means you are a tree hugging, hippy-dippy, wack-a-doodle.
Hi, I am Traci. I am a tree-hugging, hippy-dippy, wack-a-doodle who says silly things like Namaste, heals people and stuff with my power-of-the-Gods-driven hands of light and twist myself into a pretzel daily to find equanimity in myself and bring it into my life. I certainly didn't start out my life like this and had found it a bit of a climb to reach the place where I am comfortable being this different from my roots. To severe, the ties of the programming from our upbringing is a pretty monumental task. There are many obstacles to freeing yourself from familial beliefs. First, for me, there are many people perplexed and afraid of the changes they see in me. It's like the old Traci has been snatched from her body and some strange- more happy, less judgmental, healthier and more conscious version was implanted overnight. They look at me with doubt and wonder as I answer questions that eventually lead up to some version of "is yoga a religious cult?" Before I roll my eyes and let the resounding "No" roll off my tongue lets explore the term. Merriam-Webster defines cult as
1 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
2 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book)
b : the object of such devotion
c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
3 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
4 : formal religious veneration : worship
5 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
By the 2a definition's wording yoga could be considered a cult in my estimation. The truth is that I am devoted to the practice of yoga. There is some ritual to my training in that I do it daily for approximately the same amount of time. I have a room of my home set up for the practice, and my teacher and the people who are my fellow yogis could rightfully be called a "body of adherents." Now if you were asking me if I am becoming indoctrinated by some specific belief system that worships a particular thing or person? No. Have I joined a group that seeks to control and isolate me from the outside world? No. Am I being prescribed some certain dogma that I must adhere to lest I be cast into a firey pit? No. Will we be drinking poisoned Kool-Aid in efforts to escape this world anytime soon? Certainly not, have you seen what they put into that stuff?
Through yoga, I have however found a group of people who support and encourage my quest for mental and physical growth. They too seek to have a better understanding of their selves and the world around them. I do have new thoughts on things- new ways of seeing the world as a more hospitable and safe place. I have worked to derive more personal insight into my inner workings and replaced old coping mechanisms with new to draw from when I am facing stresses in my everyday life. I have a host of new natural remedies, healthy eating ideas and an ever more excellent report from my doctor year by year that these things are working. Things I have not got are high cholesterol, blood pressure or any need of the meds that control these problems and seem to be so much a regular part of aging here in America. Heck, I no longer even need an inhaler for my asthma.
So, why am I up at 4 am with a computer in front of my face and a long day of learning ahead of me? I had a sudden urge to speak. My mind began streaming words that had to find a place to be written out and expressed- NOW. I had an inspiration to write out what was stewing in my heart that my Kundalini so often stirs up.
I began a quest yesterday, wait- I started another search yesterday. I embarked on a mission, really. The purpose has been self-discovery and incremental enlightenment for years now, but yesterday I took a real leap on the path. I started Kundalini Yoga teacher training yesterday.
If you are unfamiliar with Kundalini, you might be wondering how this is such a big deal and why one would be awake at 4 am just because they had begun a new yoga venture. I suppose for many yoga is still a weird Indian derived exercise program that twists you into a pretzel and has you saying kooky things like Nameste which here is America means you are a tree hugging, hippy-dippy, wack-a-doodle.
Hi, I am Traci. I am a tree-hugging, hippy-dippy, wack-a-doodle who says silly things like Namaste, heals people and stuff with my power-of-the-Gods-driven hands of light and twist myself into a pretzel daily to find equanimity in myself and bring it into my life. I certainly didn't start out my life like this and had found it a bit of a climb to reach the place where I am comfortable being this different from my roots. To severe, the ties of the programming from our upbringing is a pretty monumental task. There are many obstacles to freeing yourself from familial beliefs. First, for me, there are many people perplexed and afraid of the changes they see in me. It's like the old Traci has been snatched from her body and some strange- more happy, less judgmental, healthier and more conscious version was implanted overnight. They look at me with doubt and wonder as I answer questions that eventually lead up to some version of "is yoga a religious cult?" Before I roll my eyes and let the resounding "No" roll off my tongue lets explore the term. Merriam-Webster defines cult as
1 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
2 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book)
b : the object of such devotion
c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
3 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
4 : formal religious veneration : worship
5 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
By the 2a definition's wording yoga could be considered a cult in my estimation. The truth is that I am devoted to the practice of yoga. There is some ritual to my training in that I do it daily for approximately the same amount of time. I have a room of my home set up for the practice, and my teacher and the people who are my fellow yogis could rightfully be called a "body of adherents." Now if you were asking me if I am becoming indoctrinated by some specific belief system that worships a particular thing or person? No. Have I joined a group that seeks to control and isolate me from the outside world? No. Am I being prescribed some certain dogma that I must adhere to lest I be cast into a firey pit? No. Will we be drinking poisoned Kool-Aid in efforts to escape this world anytime soon? Certainly not, have you seen what they put into that stuff?
Through yoga, I have however found a group of people who support and encourage my quest for mental and physical growth. They too seek to have a better understanding of their selves and the world around them. I do have new thoughts on things- new ways of seeing the world as a more hospitable and safe place. I have worked to derive more personal insight into my inner workings and replaced old coping mechanisms with new to draw from when I am facing stresses in my everyday life. I have a host of new natural remedies, healthy eating ideas and an ever more excellent report from my doctor year by year that these things are working. Things I have not got are high cholesterol, blood pressure or any need of the meds that control these problems and seem to be so much a regular part of aging here in America. Heck, I no longer even need an inhaler for my asthma.
So, why am I up at 4 am with a computer in front of my face and a long day of learning ahead of me? I had a sudden urge to speak. My mind began streaming words that had to find a place to be written out and expressed- NOW. I had an inspiration to write out what was stewing in my heart that my Kundalini so often stirs up.
I had to tell a morsel of the why I do yoga. I felt compelled to express some of the reasons that my heart grabbed onto it and that I continue to be amazed at its ability to soothe and heal the mind and body. This blog suddenly had to be written as a documentation of my journey through this training and the small incremental lights that are lit within me.
The purpose I haven't quite worked out... For some, it may only be a window into what I am doing and a cure to some of their curiosities about their questions over my current weirdness. I hope for some it will be a perk to their interests and perhaps light and little fire in them as well. I am reminded of that quote that I will never get perfect but says the flame of one candle can ignite many others and with no lessening of its illumination.
I hope you will join me for whatever your interest may be in it. It is sure to be an entertaining adventure as there is a very specific reason for the "hapless" in this blogs name.
So, welcome to my journey of bumbling attempts to transform everyday challenges into wisdom. I warn you that I am often graceless as I am stumbling into my life lessons. My best attributes are derived from my stubborn nature that has become diligence and being a creature of habit that has become a commitment to myself and this thing that has grabbed my heart and sent me into a world of understandings that have changed my life for the better. Day 1: The magic of yoga- turning my vices into virtues.
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